Impact of blockchain and crypto on businesses

By Raj Karkara

The crypto and blockchain industry is booming as a result of its widespread use worldwide. Industry leaders are modifying and tailoring technology to fit different use cases as the universe of blockchain applications expands. According to notable estimates, the blockchain industry will be worth $176 billion by 2025. Since 2018, blockchain and crypto jobs have already grown by 138% in India. In the future, the use of blockchain technology and crypto is expected to make India more economically inclusive and technologically advanced.

Why blockchain and crypto?

Due to the enormous amount of data generated every day, every organization must find ways to effectively manage data while optimizing costs. The promise of decentralized ownership, immutability and cryptographic security of data is where blockchain catches the attention of C-suite executives. As everyone has begun to recognize the disruptive potential of this technology, a number of cross-industry use cases are also being researched.

Currently, blockchain has the power to revolutionize several industries and improve the democratic, secure, transparent and efficient operation of processes. The technology is on its way to replacing the status quo in the financial industry.

There are around 15-20 million crypto investors in India. Currently, 60% of Indian states are considered public with major CryptoTech users. Recently, Google announced that it will accept crypto payments for its cloud services. Likewise, Mastercard has introduced a brand new program called Crypto Source that enables financial institutions to offer their customers crypto trading opportunities and services.

Greater adoption across India

Blockchain is becoming more popular, especially in banking and insurance. Actors from these industries form a consortium to make the best possible use of this technology on a larger scale. On the other hand, some conglomerates of businesses have expressed interest in using blockchain to improve business operations among their affiliates and business partners.

The fintech sector has already seen significant improvements through blockchain. Here are some prominent examples:

• Thanks to blockchain, businesses can now process payments for less than banks
• Strives to provide banking services to around 2 billion unbanked people worldwide
• Allows loan applications to be processed in hours as opposed to days
• Transforming the international trade market
• Compliance solutions built on blockchain simplify the audit business. Blockchain’s immutability reduces the likelihood of inaccurate reporting and guarantees the accuracy of all records

Even government agencies are recognizing the potential of blockchain and have begun to integrate blockchain technology across multiple departments. All telecom companies have been ordered by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to start implementing blockchain to solve the problem of spam calls. It will also help to find unregistered telemarketing companies. Similarly, the Tea Board of India intends to use blockchain to improve supply chain traceability. This will improve accountability and make it easier for the authorities to identify and address problem areas. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated that all depositories use blockchain technology to maintain records. This will increase transparency in the record keeping process as well as in the process of observing the creation of securities and covenants for non-convertible securities.

In addition to all these industries where blockchain technology has already been adopted or is in the process of being adopted, there are several other industries where the Indian government is planning to implement it. The government plans to create a national blockchain framework that will help transform the future of up to 44 industries, including education, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, energy, e-governance and more.

The Indian Crypto Market

In India, crypto is becoming increasingly popular. Millennials are jumping on the crypto bandwagon from tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well. Although men dominated this industry until recently, the number of women trading crypto has increased by over 1000%. The fact that 66% of all users are still under the age of 35 shows the higher adoption rate of crypto among the country’s youth.

Young people are big investors in this area and will continue to be so. P2P networks have significantly aided the tech-savvy generation’s use of crypto. Future adoption by more specialized segments of the population will be driven by growing crypto acceptance among the general public.

More pilots and production-ready applications are needed for the blockchain movement in India to move forward. There are many exciting days ahead for blockchain in India with the convergence of government organizations, consultancies, industry titans and start-ups across a range of platforms. For the crypto market, the government has indicated that it recognizes the potential of crypto even though the regulations are still uncertain. India has decided to introduce a bill on crypto during the G 20 summit in 2023, where India will hold the presidency. Regulations will ensure that all players follow an imposed code of conduct that safeguards the greater interest of investors and industry looks forward to the same.

The author is COO, ZebPay

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